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Thursday, January 29, 2015

So Benefit have today released their new mascara exclusively free with Elle, before you can even get it at their counters. I can tell you there is certainly a plus side to working at 6am sometimes, as I managed to bag one as soon as I could!

Roller Lash is a curling and lifting mascara, with the Hook ‘n’ Roll™ curved brush that was modelled on old school hair rollers, designed to catch your lashes and curl them, so you don’t need a curling wand. According to the Benefit blog, it’s supposed to be the day time friendly companion to the dramatic They’re Real! mascara. It’s a silicone wand, so if you don’t like these new fangled wands compared to tradition brush ones, this might not be the one for you! Or maybe it could be the one to change your mind…?

So the first thing I did when I got home from work was wash my face and apply some makeup!

That was one coat, which I was very impressed with! It definitely lengthened and curled my lashes. It wasn’t as clump free as I’d like it to be but it is not the worst thing ever. I think I might just be picky about how clump free I like mascara!

This is two coats. Because I had left it a bit too longer between applying coats, it was harder to work with but that’s completely my own fault. I wasn’t hugely happy with how 2 coats looked in person at first but now that it’s been on my eyes a while and I’ve gotten used to it, I do really like! It’s definitely a wearable daytime look, either one or two coats (depending on how much of a mascara addict you are!) and I’m thinking if I might try and do a comparsion post to They’re Real! to see if there is much of a difference in drama.

As for wear, I’ve had it one for a few hours and it’s still looking good. I’ll edit back in my findings by the end of the day and report on any smudging or flaking, as well as ease of removal.

As for the rest of my face, these are the products I’m wearing in case you’re interested.

Foundation- A mix of Catrice Nude Illusion in Nude Ivory and Maybelline Better Skin in Nude

Concealer-Essence Stay All Day Concealer in Natural Beige

Eyes-Catrice Velvet Matt Eyeshadow in Vanillaty Fair and Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in To Die For (2 brown shades used in crease)

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

I’ve been to Primark twice this month and picked up some fun bits and pieces (as well as essentials!). After reading Chloe’s post over onNurse Fancy Pants, I decided to post some of my finds too!

First up are two Harry Potter t-shirts! These originally were out in July but I couldn’t get my hands on them. So when I saw this this time around, I spent ages digging through the rails to find my size Slytherin t-shirt and I’ve worn it so much! I then went back to pick up the Gryffindor one for a friend. £6 each

I love teal and minty colours so I picked up this basic jumper. Nothing really exciting, I just wanted to show you the colour! Can’t remember the price, either £6 or £8.

Some people will have already seen these Little Mermaid PJ bottoms on my Facebook or Instagram. I don’t really need new PJs but when I saw them I had to have them. They make me smile just thinking of them and my inner 3 year old loves them! £8

I mentioned in my last post that I bought some Angelica nail polishes. The first 3 are matte glitters, with the last one a mixture of glitter and matte glitter. They are from left to right: Pink Ladies, Boom Pop, Boy Meets Girl, Party Pants. £2 each

Close up of all the polishes

This brush set was marked down from Christmas gifts, it was either £1 or 50p, I can’t remember. I only wanted it for the blush brush anyway, I have something similar and wanted one for blusher and one for bronzer.

Finally I got this mug. I’m not a fan of yellow, never have been, but it’s beginning to grow on me. First with the mustard yellow trend of autumn and now this bright chevron mug. I think the yellow is a bit brighter in real life, it’s very sunny. That set me back only £1.50

I also bought myself some leggings (a pair on each trip) and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one or two other small things I got on the first trip that I can’t remember! Spring has most definitely sprung in Primark, so get down there if the winter is making you blue.

Monday, January 26, 2015

This side of winter is always a bit of a weird one when it comes to nail polish colours. Just after the sparkle of glitters for Christmas and New Years but it can feel like a bit too early for the pastels of spring. I really like the base colour I used, Sinful Colors in Mauve, as it’s like a super greyed out purple. It feels like a nice transition colour into spring pastels. I found a bunch of these Angelica matte glitter top coats in Primark and thought this one, Pink Ladies, was perfect to put over Mauve as it prettied it up a bit but isn’t super girly either.

I really like the look of matte glitter toppers (I prefer to call them confetti toppers actually for some reason!). I’m starting to build up a good collection of them actually. Must gather them all up and see which ones I actually own!

What do you think of these matte glitters? Are you a fan or do you prefer sparkly top coats? Let me know below!

Out of all the products in the gift, these were the two I was most looking forward to getting my hands on. I’ve heard so many good things about Rose Jam shower gel and boy it didn’t disappoint! It reminds me of Turkish Delight sweets and the scent is strong, I could still smell it on my skin a few hours after my shower. And it’s such a pretty colour! I layered it with the Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion for an extra sweet yummy scent. This product wasn’t new to me, I’ve had it before but I just love vanilla scents and couldn’t wait to use it again.

Tender is the Night massage bar is new to me and I have yet to use it, but it smells nice and that’s the main thing! What I like about the massage bars is that they’re just solid moisturisers, so you can use these on yourself in place of a tradition body lotion and they’re also good for travelling, especially on flights as they’ll bypass any liquid restrictions. Honey I Washed the Kids is a favourite of mine from Lush, I keep getting it in gifts but I won’t complain, it’s a sweet honey and toffee smelling soap.

Gorgeous is another product I’ve used before (I got it on sale when I lasted owned it, as it’s over £40!). It’s not too heavy but it’s still really moisturising. You can definitely smell the orange blossom in it. Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner is new to me. I’ve used the African Paradise one before and I like the idea of a body conditioner. Basically, if shower gel was the shampoo of body washing, then body conditioner is to hair conditioner. You use shower gel, wash off, apply this to damp skin and then wash off. I wouldn’t use it all the time, not if I was also to use body lotion after coming out of the shower but if in a hurry then this is a good alternative.

My favourites in this are definitely the first two I pictured, the Rose Jam shower gel and Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion. This is definitely a nice gift for someone who likes floral and sweet scents and it’s especially good as there’s no bath products (which I like but since I don’t have a bath it’s pointless me having bath products!). And bonus, you get a nice little box to use after!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Song You Listen to When Happy
Really depends on what I’m in the mood for! Like Sharon, I’m enjoying Bang Bang by Jessie J & co., every time I hear Shake It Off played at work, it puts me into a good mood! Motown is using pretty good, 80s are a really good bet for me in case you didn’t get that from the music meme I did way back when on this blog! Rio by Duran Duran to name but one song.

Song You Listen to When Sad
Songs from A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay, Elton John (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word), certain Beatles songs (Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday, In My Life), Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. Not that I don’t enjoy these when happy either.

What song will you have at your wedding?
I’ve never really been set on certain songs to play at my wedding, it hasn’t crossed my mind that much. Bar one song that I love and don’t wish to divulge here!

What song do you dance around the house to?
Stick on pretty much any Michael Jackson and I’ll dance. Especially Blame It On the Boogie and Rockin’ Robin (complete with chicken dance moves). Actually make that pretty much any disco. Also Let’s Dance by David Bowie, Twist and Shout by The Beatles, Bye Bye Bye by N Sync, Tightrope by Janelle Monae, I did a great rendition of Proud Mary by Tina Turner just before Christmas while tidying the house and packing!

Song You Play on Your Headphones When Out and About
I have a playlist called Happy and I put it on shuffle, it’s songs that make feel good. Most, if not all, the songs already listed are on there, as well as a mix of songs like I Turn to You by Mel C, Madness songs, Dance Wiv Me by Dizzee Rascal, Toxic by Britney Spears, Micheal by Franz Ferdinand, I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor by Arctic Monkeys, Rip It Up by Little Richard, Greenlight by Beyonce, I could go on and go!

Song You Listen to When Angry
I probably go to rock, something that I can thrash away to. First It Giveth by Queens of the Stoneage helps to diffuse anger in me. I also like Winter by Vivaldi, it’s the violins. If I could play the violin I’d play this when angry and channel all my anger into that.

Song That Makes You Lose Your Shit at a Party
Hmmm, I can’t think of the last time I was out in a situation with this! I do remember however Gasolina by Daddy Yankee being one of those ‘OMG!!!’ moments at my secondary school graduation, due to a friend and me hearing it in London a few months earlier, not hearing it ever back home until that moment and running to find each other on the dance floor to go ‘OMG, IT’S THAT SONG!!’

The Last Song You Listened To
I put on a random Michael Jackson playlist when I started this post, starting off with Blame It On The Boogie. Currently on though is Scream by Michael and Janet Jackson.

Song You Want to See Live
I’m not a massive concert goer, I’ve been to a few before and while I’ve enjoyed them I haven’t been to one in years and years. I would love to go to a Madness concert though, I grew up listening to them thanks to Mum and I think it would just be a great concert to go to. On the flip side, I’d also like to see Prodigy live but my boyfriend reckons that I’d never cope at one, I’d be jostled around and I’d be miserable!

Your Karaoke SongWake Me Up by Wham! J-j-j-jitterbug!

What songs do you work out to?
I used to have a playlist on my phone with songs but it got wiped. I do like dancey stuff actually, which is surprising as I’m not a massive dance genre fan. Things like Hey Boy Hey Girl by Chemical Brothers, Adagio For Strings by Tiesto, Prodigy songs, Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal.

Song with most memories attached
You can’t help but attach memories to songs. There’s is no one song that holds the most memories. Toxic reminds me of being in Prague on school tour in TY, Monster by The Automatic reminds me of being at Oxegen music festival in 2006, It’s Raining Men by Geri Halliwell reminds me of my 1st year school tour, Tipsy by J Kwon of my 18th birthday party, Maneater of the debs, SOS by Rihanna of dancing on the bed with a friend after a night out in college, Bright Lights Bigger City by Ceelo Green of driving to early every morning to my first proper job after college, Never Enough by Roisin Murphy reminds me of the day I handed in my final year dissertation, Uptown Girl cover by Westlife reminds me of when my sister was born. I could go on and on and on! If I was to attach an album though to memories, it would be 2002 in London staying with my Nana, going to my cousin’s confirmation and watching Ireland play in World Cup and that album is The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Song that Makes You CrySomewhere Over the Rainbow. It was played at my cousin’s funeral 7 years ago and it still tugs at my heart to this day and brings tears to my eyes. Danny Boy and Brown Eyed Girl always have the same effect. Annie’s Song by John Denver makes me well up as well for some reason.

Guilty Pleasure Song
No such thing. NO SUCH THING AS A GUILTY PLEASURE! If you want me to list songs that fall under cheesy, then I’ll go with bands I liked from childhood to teenage years, like Spice Girls, S Club 7, Steps, Vengaboys, you get the picture! Still enjoy listening to them to this day.

Zigazigah!

Favourite Song from a Musical
Again, no such thing as just one favourite! Love the entire Chicago soundtrack, as well as the Annie one too. There’s Singin’ in the Rain, El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge, My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music, Electricity from Billy Elliot, Hey Big Spender from Sweet Charity, Part of My World from The Little Mermaid (I’m counting Disney films!).

Song by an Irish Artist
Seeing as I don’t listen to Irish radio anymore, I’m not really up to date with Irish bands. I do still really like Encore by Wallis Bird though, such a rousing song.

Favourite Song to Play on an Instrument
I can’t remember the name but I loved playing a ballad song on the tin whistle, I could make it sound quite melancholy. I should pick up the tin whistle again really or learn to play another instrument.

Song You Hate the Most
Still hate those Coronas songs, as well as that ‘I got soul but I’m not a soldier’ bollox by The Killers

Your Favourite Song of All Time
Don’t have one. Can’t pin it down to one, no way. I love most of the songs mentioned here and many more. I will say though, I love so many different covers of I Put a Spell on You. Screaming Jay Hawkins, Nina Simone, Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus, Annie Lennox, and Tim Curry. I’m sure if I looked up more versions on YouTube I’d like them too!

Please feel free to do this post if you’re interested, I always love seeing posts like this myself!

Friday, January 16, 2015

I do enjoy a good Maybelline Color Show collection (even if it is spelt color and not colour!). I did get the sparkly ones from around Christmas but haven’t had a chance to post them. I spotted these last week in Boots and while I liked them all, I bought only two. They did stick in my mind though so I went back and got the rest. For blogging purposes you know….

Anyway, there’s 4 shades and one glitter topper. Lou from Painting Nails and Baking Scales showed one of the promo pictures up in the shops and it shows a different glitter topper, but it looks like it’s only available in France at the moment. Which is a pretty as it’s beautiful, go check out the post from Painting Nails and Baking Scales here.

First up is Orchid Violet

This is one of the two that I first picked up, the other being the glitter topper. This is a pretty purple creme. I really like it, I’ll probably use it when doing nail art as I think it would be nice to use on top of one of the lighter colours below.

Next up is Peach Bloom

I wasn’t hugely intrigued by the bottle at first. I thought it could either be really nice or end up a disaster. Luckily it turned out nice! It’s a nice dainty peachy creme, very spring appropriate!

Next is Fuschia Petal

This is probably my least favourite of the collection. Not that I hate it or anything, I just find the others stand out. It’s a pinky purple, I think it’s a nice combo of delicate and strong!

Last colour in the collection is Vivid Rose

When they say vivid they mean it! This one is a bit hard to explain, it’s a really intense pink, almost red, almost reaching neon. This is probably my second favourite and the biggest surprise, as I was not expecting to like it that much.

Finally, we have the topper Bouquet

Bouquet is a glittery topper, with pink and white large and small hex glitters, tiny gold glitter and large gold hex glitter. I thought it might be sickly or something as it looked so pink. I used one coat over all the polishes above. I love it over Vivid Rose, for a punchy effect and over Peach Bloom for a really delicate look, though I also like how the gold pops over Orchid Violet.

My favourites are Vivid Rose and Peach Bloom, I keep changing my mind over which I like better! I do like that while this is a floral collection, there’s some bright punchy colours as well as some more delicate ones. Definitely worth checking out if you’re sick of winter and want to injection some colour to your life!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

I really enjoyed doing the 2014 post I did last year, so I decided to do it again this year. Here’s some of the books I know about that I’m looking forward to.

So You’ve Been Publically Shamed- Jon Ronson

Probably my most anticipated book of the year! I’ve enjoyed all the Ronson books I’ve read so far (just have The Men Who Stare at Goats left to read). For So You’ve Been Publically, Ronson travelled three years interviewing people who have been victims of high profile public shamings, such as people who have made mistakes at work and people who have gone viral on social media for the wrong reasons. It’s a way of showing how much of a force shame is, how we are quick to point out peoples flaws and point fingers for them living outside what we set as ‘normal’ in society. 31st March

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery- Jenny Colgan

The first book was on my list last year and this year I’m looking forward to follow up. I enjoy Colgan’s works and it’s possible that the Little Beach Street Bakery setting is my favourite in all the books. I don’t know what the story actually revolves around, but seeing as it revolves around Polly, her bakery and her puffin, then I’m happy to read it! 26th February

Miss Mayhem- Rachel Hawkins

This is the follow up book to Rebel Belle, which I really enjoyed last year. In Rebel Belle, perfect student Harper is the perfect Southern Belle has powers passed onto her and discovers she is now a Paladin, someone who’s job it is to protect someone else. Lo and behold, that someone else turns out to be the person she despises! The book was fun, it reminded me of Buffy, with it’s kickass female lead and magical elements to it. Second book is bound to be just as fun too. 7th April

Winter- Marissa Meyer

The 4th book in the Lunar Chronicles. Super sad that it’s not out until towards the end of the year, I thought it was originally out earlier but I think it was then pushed back. This book is a Snow White retelling, we’ve already seen a small glimpse of the character at the end of Cress. There is a companion story coming out soon though on 27th Janurary, more of a 3.5 in the series, that revolves around Queen Levana and her back story, so at least I have that to tide me over until November! 10th November

Finders Keepers- Stephen King

Follow up book to Mr. Mercedes and I can’t wait! I loved the misfit team in the first book and can’t wait to see those characters again. I’ve enjoyed all the King books I’ve read so far and I am really loving the whole mystery detective genre again lately so this book will be great. 2nd June

I Regret Nothing- Jen Lancaster

I’ve read all of Lancaster’s memoirs so far and really enjoy them. In this book, Lancaster makes a bucket list of things to do and I’m sure it’ll be just as funny as the other books. 5th May

A God in Ruins- Kate Atkinson

This is one I’ve just recently found out about and have put on the list, purely because I enjoyed Life After Life. In Life After Life, the book follows Ursula, whereas this book is about her brother Teddy. I’m not too sure about the format of this book, as in Life After Life, when Ursula dies she is reborn and restarts her life, with knowledge of her previous lives and how making certain decisions changes the outcome of each life. I don’t know if that will have an effect on Teddy’s life or not, I really don’t know what to expect of this book but I’ll probably pick it up at some stage. May 27th

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

This is the next book in the Rivers of London series and while I enjoyed Foxglove Summer, it did seem like it was a bit of a filler, as there was barely any movement of the events from the previous book, which ended on a MASSIVE cliffhanger. I’m hoping this book picks up from there as I am dying to know what happens! 19th November

That’s all I could find out about that intrigued me, I hope there’s another Robert Galbraith book as I’m really enjoying that series. I had hoped there would be another Mary Roach out this year but I can’t see anything online about one unfortunately. I’m sure as the year goes on I’ll hear of other books but for now that’s it.

Any books you’re looking forward to this year? Let me know in a comment below!

Monday, January 12, 2015

So before I’ve made reading resolutions, general resolutions and food related resolutions but this year I want to concentrate on crafty challenges. It was something I’ve discussed with Sarah last year and in fact she’s made her own challenge post, check it out here.

Since last year I’ve gotten back into knitting and in general that has made me feel a bit more crafty. However I’m still a chronic pinner and want to get some of these pins done.

1. Do some cable knitting

I don’t know why this scares me a bit but it does. Maybe it’s the addition of a 3 needle? I love the look of cables though and totally want to give it a go.

2. Knit a pair of socks

Again, something else that scares me a bit but probably because of the tiny tiny needles used to knit with sock yarn! But I bought myself some really cool self striping yarn and I’m excited to give it a go.

3. Knit myself a garment

Not sure what but I bought ten balls of a wool, I’m sure I can find something to do! Plus, I need to be a bit more selfish and knit for myself!

4. Try crochet

I think I say this to myself every year! I’ve even tried from YouTube videos before but once I get a chain done, everything else seems super complicated, even though it’s probably as easy as pie.

5. Sew 6 new things

Yes, super vague, which I hope doesn’t become my downfall, but I just want to encourage myself to be better friends with my sewing machine! I do have some things in mind though, just don’t want to list them here in case I change my mind!

6. Try cross stitch a heart

Another thing I’ve never really done, I think I tried it once after getting on of those magazines that have a bunch of free stuff in first edition! I’ve got this pinned on Pinterest, I wanted to put down something a specific project here than try cross stitch.

7. Try more clay crafts

In the past I’ve enjoyed making magnets out of clay, so I still have quite a bit in my collection that I want to try and use up

8. Make a map of Ireland out of music sheet paper

I’ve seen something like this on Pinterest and want to give it a go myself

9. More stencilling and printing

I tried this out before Christmas, using stamps I bought and stamps I made out of craft foam so looking forward to perfecting my technique and printing some more thing.

10. Needle felt

Not sure I’ll have patience for this but I’ve seen some simple looking projects on Pinterest which could be fun.

Hopefully I’ll remember this list every time I don’t know what to do or feeling like I need some inspiration.

Friday, January 9, 2015

I really liked the idea of the Coca Cola Collection OPI did last year. There were a few polishes I liked the look of (ideally I would have loved the mini set) but for some reason this one really stuck in my head. You’re So Vain-illa was the Vanilla Coke polish and it’s a creamy nude colour. It sounds boring and really it isn’t usually the type of polish that would get stuck in my head but it did. I eventually cracked and bought it after Christmas. Here it is!

After my obsession last year with white polishes, I really like this. I find that it’s the perfect mix of a nude and a white polish (I know it is a nude polish but when I think of a nude polish it’s something a bit darker along the lines of Nails Inc Porchester Square). Speaking of white polishes, seeing as I LOVED putting multi coloured glitter over white last year I couldn’t resist adding Essene Circus Confetti on top of this.

I think this is ideal if you want to make the colours of the glitter pop but think white is a bit too stark. I can’t wait to try other looks out with this polish, I’ve already a Valentine’s idea in mind!